F+U Berlin

F+U is one of the largest groups of language schools in Europe, offering a diverse range of courses across its two German locations in Berlin and Heidelberg. The Berlin school is conveniently located near Potsdamer Platz, an important social, cultural and commercial center in Berlin. With a great variety of courses, each student will be able to find the most suitable course for their needs. The school is also a registered TestDaF and telc exam center, making it a great choice for taking an exam preparation course.

In 2018, the school moved into its new facilities, which are shared with the BTK University of Applied Sciences Europe. The five story building has a great atmosphere for learning, the classrooms occupy the first three floors of the building, which also houses a dedicated computer lab, recreation areas, a courtyard and a library. Students are encouraged to practice their language skills with the local German students for a more enriching experience, and, when available, students can even take the opportunity to attend some of the university lectures for free.

Berlin has many sights to see and places to be discovered, and the school will make sure that you are able to see as much as possible whilst taking your language course. F+U itself organizes a program of monthly activities and excursions, and the team can give advice and information on exploring the city and further afield. Some of the activities are included in the course price, however if not, they are offered at an affordable fee for students.

All F+U teachers are native to Germany and have many years of experience teaching German. F+U has received recognition for their professional and quality German language education.

Reviews

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F+U Berlin
- Helene

1. The school F + U

1.1 The school is situated in the heart of the city center, so you can easily reach the closest subway stop, which is very advantageous from my point of view. In addition, I find it also useful that after classes you have the possibility to visit the historical or cultural places of the city within ten minutes distance.

1.2 Concerning the teaching, I can say that the three teachers we had were all motivated and competent. The motivation and dedication of my two teachers (morning and afternoon) was exemplary in my eyes.

1.3 The classroom equipment was also effective for teaching. Although the school is in the center, we were not disturbed by outside noise during the lessons: the windows are soundproofed.

1.4 Concerning the organization of the school, my assessment is somewhat ambivalent. During my first week, the teacher I actually would have had was sick. The administration had then decided to classify two groups with different levels of speech (B1 and B2) into one class. This was problematic on one hand regarding the number of students but also the differences in learning time and content. In fact, we were almost more than 15 students this week with a planned B1 level education, while students with B2 level were also there. Some students were less motivated, even if the teacher really tried to make the most of it, although he did not like the situation himself. Normally, the school should have look for a substitute teacher for the B2 group. The positive point is that I was able to talk with an administrative staff member and I received a coupon for another week. This gesture (even if it was only given to me and another person) shows that understanding was there.

1.5 I would like to make a further point regarding the organizational structure of the school, which is not my personal opinion, but a result of some conversations with my classmates. For students who visited the school for a long period of time, the courses have not always been adapted individually to their needs. The division into different course groups was primarily based on the number of students and not on the needs of the individual. For example, a student told me that he had already come to lesson 7 or 8 in the B2 course, but now he had a new teacher in another class and had to start with lesson 3 because there was no other B2 group which is also in lesson 7 or 8. This student told me that he would change school.

2. The host family

2.1 The place where the host family is located is a little further from the school outside the city. It takes about 45 minutes to get to school. First you have to take a bus and then the subway, which did not really make the way to the city center easy, espcially if someone wanted to go out in the evening. In addition, the neighborhood was not really appealing. It would, of course, be more interesting to live closer to the city center.

2.2 The welcome was ok. Nevertheless, I would recommend that students live in a residence. It is closer to the school and offers the opportunity to establish a wide range of contacts. In the classroom, practice exercises of the German language are already taking place, which can be further developed outside the school by meeting people in bars or anywhere else (this also opens the mind). In addition, I felt the price of the accommodation for 3 weeks too expensive (much higher than the price in a residence) considering that the food served there was rice (I ended up with constipation :-)) with different sauces every day.

3. The city

3.1 What to say about Berlin! It is obviously a beautiful city with charm :) I felt immediately that the energy here is positive and the atmosphere is relaxed despite the size of the city. You also notice that there is a lot of space and liveliness in Berlin. People are dynamic, but not stressed, and you wont get lost if you take the subway (it's a children's game!). Every station is simple and there aren‘t hundreds of different lines at one station. It is also nice to see that there is a good balance between green areas and urban cityscape. The size of Berlin did not hinder the existence of many parks, where you can recover from the city traffic whenever you wish.

3.2 Berlin is also very cultural and there is a lot for everybody's taste. There are just as many possibilities to visit museums as to dive into Berlin's nightlife and go to shows or concerts. It is very varied and rarely boring.

3.3 Berlin is a city characterized by the history of the Second World War and the Cold War with the Berlin Wall. The historical remains give the city a lot of character. It is perhaps also one of the reasons why Berlin is so "open-minded" as they learned from their past. As a matter of fact, the city is always growing, it is constantly being expanded and there are always new construction projects, etc.

3.4 The cost of living in Berlin is not very high, which also makes it possible to go to a good restaurant (of course for the Swiss, it's cheap ... ;-)) What you should not miss is the neighborhood Kreuzberg, Bergmannstrasse and surroundings: it is really ideal to go there to eat something or drink! The atmosphere there is quite creative.

3.5 During the time when I was in Berlin, it was even more beautiful and sunny than in other German cities (as I saw in TV weather)! That gave me to believe that here in Berlin always the sun shines. But what I heard, the winter here are still very hard !!!

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